Bienvenidos de Espana! Another beautiful week in Madrid has come and gone. The temperature is getting pretty warm….approaching 90 degrees already-they say this summer will be a scorcher? Things already appear to be a bit on the brown side here (fields, weeds, etc).
This week was a good one in the Temple, the saints from Porto, Norte (Portugal) were our guests and they always bring a lot of enthusiasm and spirit. We accomplished a little bit of everything as far as Temple work goes and all seemed to be very satisfied with what they were able to accomplish. It was probably the last time that we will see most of these people as their next scheduled Temple date is after we depart for home. It really is true that it is/will be harder to leave the mission field than our family at home…because we know that you will be returning home at some time to see family, but we may never see the people of Spain, Portugal and France again. It is really amazing how you can love people so much and it really saddens you to know that you may have seen them for the last time.
On Wednesday night we took opportunity to go to the Prado Museum.
Neither one of us is really into art work, so we spent our obligatory 45 minutes in the museum and decided that we had seen enough. I’m sure that we will get back there some time to spend another few minutes as they say it is the third most famous museum in the world?
It really is a gigantic place and world renown for many pieces of it’s collection. But for now we are happy that we have been there and now have the T shirt.Last Sunday night they had the final wrap-up fireside of the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Church in Spain. They have put together a short (15 minute) video of old photographs of people, buildings, Temple and much more. It was impressive to see the early roots of the Church and then see what it has become today. Unfortunately, there were many people in the video that are now inactive for some reason or another – at the same time it was really heartwarming to recognize people in their younger days with whom you work closely with today. The spirit of the meeting was fantastic and they invited about 10 people to come forward and in three minutes share their thoughts of the gospel and what had attracted them to the Church. All of them stated it was the spirit that they felt as they read, prayed, attended meetings and participated in callings. The spirit bore witness to me during that meeting that the Lord is pleased with the progress of the Church here and for the people that have stayed close to the Lord. All have made great sacrifices, but have become leaders not only in the Church but in their jobs, communities and their families. We have truly been privileged to serve in such a wonderful country with such wonderful saints. We are humbled when we see and hear the circumstances which brought them to the truthfulness of the gospel and how they continue to live their lives through all of their adversities.
Today, Sunday, we were invited again to eat dinner at the Picard’s (Michel and Juliette-Boudreaux France) along with the Rust’s (David and Eleanor-Vernal, Utah), Sister Lorraine Linares (Kearns, Utah) and Sister Herminia Martins (Portugal). The food was superb, a 4-5 course meal that was truly French (1-sliced meats, vegetables, bread 2-pork roast, potatoes, squash, eggplant, broccoli with mushrooms, and drink of choice 3-salad and cheeses with bread 4-dessert cake and ice cream. It was really good and the company was better as we were able to get to know each other a little bit better. The Picard’s are going home in two weeks during the Temple closure (they then will go to Kansas for the birth of a granddaughter) then return to the Temple in September of this year, so we will get to see them again before we leave.
Today in Church we had a combined Priesthood and Relief Society lesson and the Bishopric talked about the unity, harmony, and agreement that we all need to have in our lives. They started by talking about the unity of the Godhead, the Church, the Family, our jobs, and basically everything in our lives and how important it is that we are all pulling in the same direction. When we pull against each other things start going crazy and we are never able to progress. I reflected upon times in my life when I have not been in harmony with those around me and I can honestly say that I have lost ground in my pursuit of happiness. It is only when I recognized this that I was able to make corrections and come back into line that I was able to see my way ahead. I must be accountable for my actions and how it not only affects me, but my family, my friends, my co-workers and everyone around me. When, not if, I need to make corrections I need to make sure that I know which way to go and how I need to act or react in certain conditions, for if I continue to do the same things and expect different results I will be looking for a long time because nothing will change.
Oh, Repentance, what a wonderful blessing. What a loving Savior that paid the price for us if we will but change our actions and walk in His footsteps.
We hope and pray that each of you will continue to walk in His path and be instruments in His hands as He brings to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We love each and every one of you with all of our hearts.Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw
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